This invention relates to an improvement in a solar heat collector. It is used for collecting heat from solar radiation and is designed for cost efficiency, as well as effective energy collection.
Prior solar heat collectors typically employ a black base surface, a glass cover spaced above the surface, and black tubing or pipes between the two, designed to carry liquid or fluid for heat transfer. Sometimes these devices are constructed with the fluid running between a sandwich comprising the glass cover and black base. Other existing solar heat collectors employ lenses or reflectors to concentrate the light and heat from the sun, but special lenses or reflectors are almost prohibitively expensive except for specialized heating purposes. While solar heating is becoming more important under present day circumstances, most heaters are somewhat ineffective and relatively expensive. The expense involved becomes even more important since most solar systems require a complete back-up system for use when solar energy is unavailable.
Examples of solar heat collectors are shown in the U.S. Patent to Thomason, U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,707, granted Aug. 125, 1964 and the Johnston U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,006, issued Aug. 29, 1961. These particular patents are of structural interest because they show corrugated solar heat collectors.
Flat plate solar collecting and storage systems have been proven effective for collecting solar energy, but have been marginally cost effective due to the high installation costs of the solar collectors and storage systems. The present cost of solar collectors is in excess of $6.00 per square foot, while economic cost calculations indicate that installed collectors must be priced at approximately $2.00 per square foot in order to be competitive with other energy installations. To meet this requirement the present invention utilizes a folded reflective foil collector matrix, which is relatively inexpensive in relation to prior collector structures of more substantial construction.